Tyron Jeyi, newly appointed Community Liaison Officer in the communications team, points to the on-board digital messaging board where information such as the next stop on the route is displayed. Important Covid-safety messages relating to behaviour on the bus have now been added to the list.
With an essential service such as the GO GEORGE bus service officially classified as a high-risk area for the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the constant refreshing of safety messages to promote awareness and compliance to regulations is critical.
“There’s always the risk that people may become complacent when a situation lingers on as is the case with the pandemic,” says James Robb, GO GEORGE Manager. “For this reason, our communications team is constantly coming up with new creative ideas and innovative forms of communication to reach as many of our passengers as possible, and with a message that they can identify with.”
Audio and visual messaging
Apart from regular newspaper and radio advertisements and social media reminders to adhere to the regulations, voice recordings are played over loudspeakers at the Transport Hub during peak times, and Covid-safety messages have been added to the digital board inside the bus. With passengers spending some time daily at the bus shelters, vinyl panels carrying the message have also been applied there, where everybody can see it. By including both audio and visual messaging, the bus service reiterates its commitment to make this important message accessible to people with different categories of special needs.
Champions “walking reminders”
The communication champions have two sets of eye-catching outfits with Covid messaging to wear when they are on duty.
“It sometimes just takes someone with a bright-yellow sash like a beauty queen to remind you to pull up your mask over your nose as well!” says Robb.
Targeting learners
With schools starting this week, communication champions are at the bus stops near schools to hand out flyers with relevant safety measures when travelling by bus. A colourful superhero named The Sanitiser will make his debut as part of the communications team, sanitising the learners’ hands in a playful manner with a toy water pistol filled with sanitising liquid. To make the message stick, small bottles of GO GEORGE-branded hand sanitiser are also handed out.
For any information about the bus service, the public is invited to phone the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044, seven days a week.
Communication champions Zanele Gosa (left) and Janell Gelant display examples of the apparel with Covid-safety reminders which they wear when engaging with passengers.
